Chapter 37
“I apologize once again for not coming in person to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage, Your Excellency,” I say as I’m ending the call to my future father-in-law.
The conversation was easier than I expected. Although he gave me not-so-subtle warnings that he’ll be watching closely how I treat the one he called his favorite girl, the former sheikh showed no opposition to Jazmina marrying me instead of one of the princes she was supposedly destined for.
Deep down, I think both he and Kaled understand her nature. My fiancée was not born to bow her head to anyone, and trapping her in that kind of marriage would only make her miserable.
I remember what she said the day we got engaged.
The marriage can last until one of us falls in love.
How could that even happen when we’ll be sleeping in the same bed, sharing our lives?
I can’t see myself wanting another woman as long as I have Jazmina beside me every night.
Still, the opposite might be true.
There will come a time when—even if she doesn’t fall in love with another man—she’ll want something I can’t give her: a family.
She tried to hide it well when she read the clause excluding children from our contract, but I saw the tremor in her hand when she picked up the pen to sign.
I stand up and walk to the window of my office.
She didn’t bring it up with me, but I know she was shaken. She’s just too proud to admit it.
Am I playing fair by bringing her into a relationship based solely on physical attraction? Because that, we have in abundance.
But even with doubts crowding my mind, I know I won’t give up being with her for as long as it lasts. Jazmina has slipped—without my even realizing it—so deeply under my skin that every time we meet, I crave more time by her side.
I’ve been careful not to be alone with her. I’m not used to waiting when pleasure is on the line, but out of respect for how she was raised, I will.
I have no idea how her mind works, but even if she seems quite advanced, marrying as a virgin is likely a rule she feels bound to respect.
A knock on the door pulls me back to the present. It’s my secretary, informing me that Lamar wants to speak with me.
I authorize his entry, uneasy, as he only shows up when something is wrong. Most of the time, he stays behind the scenes, making sure everything runs smoothly.
“What’s happened? Jazmina?” I ask, worried.
“No, Your Grace. Her Highness is fine,” he says as he sits when I gesture to the chair across from my desk. “It’s about the college rapists. We managed to get two of the girls to testify, but they’re scholarship students and afraid the university will retaliate by pulling their financial aid.”
“Tell them they’re not at risk. If that happens, I’ll cover their expenses until they graduate. I’ll do whatever it takes to see those sons of bitches pay for what they did.”
“Even so, it won’t be easy. The police tend to look the other way in cases like this. It’s as if the fact that the girls attend parties gives the attackers a free pass.”
“It’s the same idiotic mindset that claims a woman wearing revealing clothes is asking to be harassed. Get a lawyer to follow the case discreetly and assist them if needed. I don’t want anyone from my legal team involved. I don’t want my name, or Jazmina’s, tied to this.”
“It will be done, boss.”
She hasn’t decided where she wants to spend the honeymoon, so I decided to take a risk and plan a surprise. We’re going to one of my castles. It’s smaller, but it’s in the Highlands. According to my secretary, it’s considered romantic.
I’m following her advice, firstly because I want the honeymoon to be special for my princess, given that the wedding is happening so fast, and secondly because the idea of being isolated with her appeals to me far too much.
From the outside, the castle looks more like a medieval fortress, but inside it has all the comfort of the most luxurious hotel.
We could go anywhere in the world, but she—like me—has already traveled a lot. I want something different. A unique experience for the two of us.
I’m sitting in the living room of her apartment, waiting for her to get ready so we can go out to dinner, trying very hard not to think about the temptation that must be naked in her bedroom right now.
Earlier today, I called my friends. I preferred to tell them all at once about my upcoming marriage. Perhaps because it’s to Kaled’s sister, I was spared the jokes that would’ve surely followed in any other scenario.
The sheikh and I are still circling each other cautiously. Things haven’t gone back to normal—each of us is equally pissed off.
Kaled likely because he thinks I crossed a line by taking his sister for myself. And me because I don’t answer to anyone regarding my life. Regardless of what he thinks, Jazmina is mine now.
I hear a thud and stand up, heading down the hallway toward the bedrooms.
I knock, but she doesn’t answer. Worried, I decide to go in.
The suite looks empty.
“Jazmina.”
A cry of pain answers me, and without thinking about whether it’s appropriate or not, I head for the bathroom.
“Get out!” she yells when she sees me. “I slipped. It’s nothing.”
She’s naked—and I’m probably the biggest bastard alive—but I can’t stop myself from looking.
I grab a towel and move closer. She’s lying down, propped up on her elbows. Legs bent, slightly open. Feet planted on the floor.
I know I’ve died and gone to heaven. My fiancée is a goddess in the flesh.
“Let me help you.” I force myself to act.
She nods and covers her breasts with one arm while closing her thighs, but it’s too late—I’ve already seen what’s hidden between her legs: dark, neatly trimmed hair, her pussy perfectly groomed. Breasts much fuller naked than they appear clothed.
“I hate this bathtub. It’s not the first time this has happened.”
Her irritated tone reassures me. If she’d truly hurt herself, her expression wouldn’t be so angry.
I kneel and wrap the towel around her body. She lifts her face, and our mouths are close.
“Don’t look at me like that, Jazmina.”
“Like what?”
“You tease without realizing it, don’t you?” I carry her to the bed.
“Am I teasing you, my fiancé?”
“You’re a witch. From the first moment I saw you, I wanted you.”
She’s sitting on the bed, wrapped in the towel. I’m standing in front of her.
I should leave. She should tell me to leave. But neither of us moves. The sexual tension binds us like a high-voltage electric current.
“Aren’t you going to get dressed?”
“I’m not sure whether I hurt myself.”
“No?”
She shakes her head, avoiding my gaze.
“Why do you say that?”
“I think my ankle . . . I think it hurts.”
I examine her outstretched leg. Nothing looks wrong.
What are you trying to do, girl?
I sit on the bed. My heart is pounding like it’s the first time I’ve ever been close to a naked woman—which is far from true.
I let a finger trail over the spot she mentioned. “Here?”
She nods.
I take her foot and bring it to my mouth. I kiss it, then drag my tongue along her skin.
“Ahhh . . .” she moans, falling back onto the bed.
“You wanted me to touch you, princess? You just had to ask. Open the towel for me. I want to see you.”
“I’m not ready for . . . We can’t.”
“I’m not going to fuck you, beautiful. I just want to give you a little of what you’re craving.”
Her hand moves to the knot of the towel. “You’re going to be my husband. It’s not wrong.”
Fuck, how does she do this to me?
I stand up, feeling like a complete bastard. “Yes, I’m going to be your husband, and nothing between us will ever be wrong, but we don’t have to do this. I can wait and—”
She opens the towel. “You said you’d give me what I crave. What is it, Rodrick? Teach me. I don’t know what I need.”
I lie down beside her, on my side, mesmerized by the mix of emotions on her face. But what really fucks me up is the absolute trust Jazmina shows.
“And now?” she asks.
Unlike the other times, I lower my mouth to hers slowly. Lips and tongue testing. My fingers caress and hold her neck, keeping her still for me.
It’s a kiss full of promises. A glimpse of what we’ll be together. Unhurried but hungry.
As if she understands she has to accept the invitation to this dance, her small hand slides into my hair, tangling there in a rhythmic, hypnotic caress.
I suck her tongue and she melts. With my thumb, I touch her nipple.
She cries out and arches, responding.
“The way you react to every touch of mine is driving me insane, Jazmina.”
“I’m not doing it on purpose . . .”
I bite her earlobe. “I want to feel your pussy.” My hand rests on her lower belly.
She doesn’t answer, but her thighs open, an invitation I don’t miss.
First, I feel her hair at my fingertips. Soft. Warm.
My princess had her eyes closed, but now she’s watching me.
When I slide into the heat of her soaked folds for the first time, she grabs my bicep, nails digging into the fabric of my shirt.
I move my middle finger slowly, in a steady rhythm, from her clit to her entrance, seducing her, coaxing her to surrender.
“In a few days, I’ll be here,” I say, slipping my finger halfway into her never-before-explored sex.
Her response is a bite to my mouth as her body pulls me in.
“I want so badly to taste you, feel you on my tongue, but I don’t trust myself to stop. So you’re going to come like this today.”
I run my tongue over her hardened nipple and suck.
“Rodrick . . .”
“You’re so fucking hot, Jazmina.”
Her breathing accelerates as I work her with my finger.
She murmurs against my lips, and I’m so lost in desire it takes me a moment to understand. Then she comes—her sweetness spilling over my hand—and she confesses:
“I’m yours.”